Shadow Warriors Ride Again (I Think)

Monday, Columbus Day: The Shadow Warriors are all set for a 250 mile ride through Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee. Well almost. Just two warriors were scheduled to go and one (Painter) bailed out at the last minute with some lame excuse about having to work. Where is his priorities? He can work anytime (independent contractor) but not on play time.

Well there I was with a bike full of gas and a carefully planned 250 mile tour of the hill country. In frustration I slept in until almost 8:30 then I was off on my lone adventure. As I rode I said to myself: "Self; since it is just you and the road and have no deadlines or encumbrances at all you should go to the Bat cave and take Bat Woman for lunch. Good Idea I told myself since it will be only a slight detour from the projected route." Off I rode to the Bat cave.

Little did I know that the Bat Woman is a very busy entity and doesn't have time for nice things such as lunch. Worlds to save and all that. Arriving at the Bat cave and discovering this fact I elected to accompany her in one of her immediate task. Subsequent to finishing this task Bat Woman informed me that she had a very special and dangerous task to perform later and she wondered if I had the right stuff (will couch potatoes do?) to accompany her. Not to reveal the wimp that I am I accepted the challenge.

Swoosh!!! Off to my bike to get my Super Suit or "Potato Man" outfit. Equipped with a hardhat, light, rubber rain suit, and biker boots I was ready for action (NOT).

Finally the hour arose when the adventure was to commence. Bat Woman started with prayer (some of us needed it more than others) and off we went diving into the remote parts of the Bat cave. First we climbed a small waterfall, slithered through some sticky mud, and skidded down a slippery slope into the darkness. After a time of walking and crab walking we arrived at a vertical crevice. I said: "Where do we go now?" Bat Woman said: "Up there." Up there just so happened to be about twelve feet up a one foot wide crevice. Bat Woman said: "This is how I do it" and up the crevice she went. I was next and discovered that potatoes do not climb nearly as well as bats. Bat Woman who is always prepared let down a slimy bat rope that felt like a spider web, however, it was just what the Potato needed for the ascent.

After looking in a room with a 600 year old foot print we came to the next major obstacle. Bat Woman said: "Just slither across this narrow ledge like this." Swoosh!! She was gone and looking at me said: "Your turn." Slithering across a ten foot long and three foot wide muddy ledge leaning into the abyss is not my idea of fun but I managed it at great effort, however, not without consequences for by this time the rubber suit was taking its revenge on me. I was severely overheating and couldn't defog my glasses which meant that I also couldn't see very well (bat vision or sonar would have been great right now).

Onward we went to the last main room which I elected to sit out due to my overheated condition (baked potatoes get smashed easily) and it was reported to be a difficult room to enter and return from. The break was just what I needed. Soon the adventure ended. Leaving the cave I resembled a baked potato covered in gravy (mud). I think I hauled it all out.

The adventure was over and I said my adieus to the Bat Woman and her domain. Happily I rode Shadow home for a good soak in the hot tub. It felt good to do something beyond my normal abilities. I owe it all to Bat Woman and my Super Suit.

Good-bye My Lady - Conclusion

With the entity gone Lady slowly began to get better but her recovery was a long hard battle. The alchemist and clergy made frequent visits to access her progress. Slowly the Lady regained her will to live. Thoughts of her mother’s sinister plans for her haunted her. To be set up to become the servant of the entity or be destroyed by it was unthinkable to her.

My Lady learned a hard lesson in this world. Loyalties and affections can be pure and true or perverse to the core and wisdom and judgment are required to tell the difference.

The Lady grew in health and in wisdom for her eyes were opened to many things in the world where in the past she had been blinded and sheltered by her family. No more did she believe just what she was told to her by others but learned to discern for herself the true and just statements, actions, and motives of the people around her. As she grew her need for my guidance grew less and less.

I knew it was my time to go and leave her to her own desires, dreams, and wishes just as I needed to follow my individual desires, dreams, and wishes.

One day word came to me that an estate which I had admired years before owned by a good friend of mine had became available. It was located in the adjoining province of Jackson in a remote area which was just perfect for my needs. My good friend offered it to me at a fair price of coin. I just couldn't let this deal pass so I purchased the property and prepared to move from the Lady’s estate.

The Lady was well and convinced me that she could manage her life and estate wisely so I departed for the Lady had grown in maturity and wisdom and I had every confidence in her abilities to succeed in her affairs.

As I rode Shadow away from the Lady’s estate I said: “Good-bye My Lady for I will always be your friend and protector.”

COMMENT CORNER

To anonymous,

The answer to your first question is yes. Almost everyone who approached that room felt the presence of the entity before they were told anything about it at all. From my child-lings to my sister's friend. And no it never bothered anyone who slept in the house except for the Lady and I. It only attacked me because I was protecting the Lady. Others who tried to help were driven away. Eventually its hiding place was found and removed. It hasn't been back since.

The total process took over a year and a half to solve and involved many people both amateur and professional. Any evil spirit can harm people if it wishes to and is allowed to, however, they usually cause us to hurt ourselves through our fear.

People without the salvation of the blood of Jesus Christ are easy targets for these spirits and are subject to possession (under their control). People under the blood of Jesus can not be possessed but can be oppressed (tormented). People under the blood of Jesus have nothing to fear from these spirits because the power they possess through Jesus is stronger than the power in the evil spirit. I am not saying that it can't hurt you but it can't destroy your soul which is the most important thing in spiritual affairs.

The Holy Bible is not only a practical manual for how to live with other people but a practical manual of how to live with the influences of the spiritual world also. A complete owners manual for the human condition. Read it, know it, accept Jesus, live it, and don't worry about these things that scare us.

Good-bye My Lady - Part VI

I thought that getting this secret out in the open would make the Lady better but it was to no avail. She grew more feble every day so one night I stayed awake all night to watch her as she slept. She was so frail I did not know if she would awaken the next morning.

I was about to dose off in my chair when in the small hours of the morning I noticed something in the upper level of the estate. It was a strange luminescent cloud glowing in the darkness in the Lady’s old bedroom. I had never seen anything like it nor had I ever herd of any such vision. I watched the cloud descended the stairs and settle upon the Lady. At that moment the Lady began to struggle for breath. In that instant I knew it was a spiritual entity so I jumped up grabbed the Holy Scripture at the corner of the Ladie's bed and rebuked the evil spirit in the name of the son of God. The vapor dissipated and the Lady recovered her breath.

As I awoke the Lady I inquired as to what had happened. All she could say was that she had the strange sensation that something was pressing the breath out of her.

Knowing that what I had seen was not a dream I started to inquire with the clergy at the cathedral. At first I thought that they would think I was mad but they listened to me intently. They knew of a dark secret of the estate. That it had once belonged to a pagan priest that the Lady’s grandmother and to a lesser extent her mother had entertained while delving into the pagan arts. While at the estate earlier the clergy had felt the presence of a malevolent entity. That is why they entreated me to relocate the Lady for it couldn’t be of her benefit to be near such a creature.

I was referred to a particular lady of the realm who had been a princess of the pagan arts but had been converted to the Christian arts and was skilled in spiritual warfare. Andromeda was her name and she lived in a neighboring village.

Andromeda was summoned and arrived late one afternoon. As she was led through the estate she stopped at the entrance to the Lady’s old bedroom. Entering the doorway she immediately turned and bolted down the stairway to the great hall where she collapsed in a chair. Running after her I inquired: “What did you see?” She said: “I saw nothing with my eyes but what I saw with my spirit was big, evil, and very old.”

Andromeda explained that the entity has lived in that room for a very long time and was looking for it’s next servant from the Lady’s linage. The Lady being of the right linage but not being acceptable due to her true Christian salvation angered the entity. It determined the Lady must be destroyed because she was useless to it.

Upon hearing of the demise of the Lady’s brother, mother, and the eccentric behavior of the Duke; Andromeda explained: “Lady; your mother blamed God for taking her favorite son instead of you so she turned against God. Then she turned you over to this entity. Since you are not suitable to serve the entity it wishes to destroy you and your linage so it can be free to persue other mortals. The things you found in the estate were planted for you to find by your mother. Your emotions awakened the entity to your presence. The Duke could not disturb this trap set by your mother because the entity would not let him. Like you the Duke could not recline and rest or the entity would try and push the breath out of him for he was also unsuitable as its servant. That is why the Duke always slept in a chair. The entity lives somewhere in that room in an old object made out of a living thing. Remove Lady from the estate and I will clean the estate and locate to hiding spot of the entity.”

Lady was removed from the estate and Andromeda and I cleansed ourselves, blessed our path, and used holy oil to cleanse the estate and a particularly strong aromatic mixture to locate the entity. As we moved through the estate we closed in on the Lady’s old bedroom. Essentially we began pushing the entity back into its home so it could be captured and destroyed. Slowly we advanced through each room. Nearing the doorway of the Lady's old bedroom the aroma of the mixture got so intense as to almost choke us. As we passed through the doorway into the room the aroma dissipated. Aproaching the doorway again the smell once again became intense. Andromeda said: “The door!! It is in the door!!” We covered the door in holy oil to seal in the beast then removed the door and took it outside the estate.

Andromeda further sealed the door arranged to have it taken to a safe place where the entity could not harm the Lady or any other mortals. Lady was moved back into the estate and was never again tormented in her sleep.

As the entity was removed from the property I could only imagine the entity saying: “Good-bye-My Lady for a time but I shall return.”

Updated Site !!!

Somehow my rating html got corrupted so I deleted that function. Also deleted is the tracking function.

Enjoy the basics that are still here.

TomKat

Good-bye My Lady - Part V

My Lady seemed to get weaker and weaker day by day. In desperation I called for the aide of the clergy from the nearby cathedral where we had met. The clergy arrived and proceeded to pray for the Lady. One of the clergy called me near and inquired as to why she was here and not in her own estate. I informed him of her having no one at the estate to care for her and I had also made a pact with the late Duke concerning her care. He intensely felt that this place was not good for her and that It might be better to take her to her own estate for she appeared to have given up on living any longer. They blessed the Lady, me, and the house and returned to the cathedral having done all that they could.

Later that day when the Lady appeared to be doing better I said to the Lady: “I think you would do better if you abide in your own estate. I would of course come with you and care for you.” The Lady began to cry. Not knowing what was the matter I inquired: “What is the matter?” The Lady cried even harder until she said: “I have no estate to go to. I have lost it to the merchants of the realm.” “What do you mean?” I said.

“When the duke of Newsprint became sick I spent all my remaining resources on his care. So that he would not know I also took usury against my estate. Since I have been sick my brother has sold all I had but couldn’t redeem the property so the merchants have taken it all. I sold you this property to try and redeem my estate but it wasn’t enough to satisfy the debt.”

“Why didn’t you tell me for I might have been able to do something to save it.” She just cried harder and said: “I wanted to be dead before you found out.”

There was nothing more I could say. Now I knew why she no longer wanted to live. I could not let her destroy herself over this issue so I told her: “Lady I am no longer purchasing this estate from you. I give the place of your birth back to you so that you will always have a place to live. I can find another estate when you are well enough to take care of yourself and this estate.” The Lady first refused my offer but I persuaded her so she accepted.

From her sick bed my Lady said about her ill fated estate: “Good-bye My Lady for I tried to save you but I failed.”

Cat Scratch Fever

Several days ago I was given a mission by Rubber Ducky. "Mr TomKat if you accept this mission any knowledge of your actions will not be reported to PETA for covert actions. Your mission is to catch two kitties, one red and one white, which the mother cat had just released from the nursery. They are to be used in a covert socialization experiment by Rubber Ducky and friends (caution Tweety Bird is near)". That sounded like a pretty easy assignment so I accepted the mission.

I knew the redhead would be a fairly easy catch but the blond could be a different story. I assembled a crack team of me for this assignment (how hard could catching cute little kittens be).

Arriving in the field I spied the mother cat with her three kittens near. The redhead was in a perfect position for capture since he was pinned against a wall. Stealthily I moved within range but suddenly I was spotted. The mother just looked on while the two blond kitties ran under the porch steps successfully evading capture, however, the redhead did just what I predicted and ran along the wall for an easy capture.

As the redhead protested the capture the mother cat just looked on disinterested so I whisked it away to the holding pen (bathtub). One down and one to go. Boy this assignment is easy.

I reposition myself and survey the targets. This time the white kitties make a tactical error. They are playing under the overturned wheelbarrow. Swiftly I move in to pet the mother cat as her kitties hide under the wheelbarrow. With cat like reflexes I lift up the wheelbarrow and grab a white kittie by the shoulders.

The fight was on. This kittie was skilled in hand to kittie combat. Instantly he contorted his head to get a death bite on my thumb and fore finger. In a matter of seconds he had inflicted numerous bites to these extremities. As I tried to reposition this kitten it claws were ripping at my other hand. Finally I managed to restrain the kittie in a position so that it could not bite me anymore.

Just when I thought I was in control of this expert warrior the mother cat mobilized into attack mode. She jumped on my leg with all claws and started climbing me like a tree. Being barely smart and very resourceful I knew when I was licked. I dropped the kittie and the mother jumped off to its aide. Better retreat than loose an eye. I retreated to the house and dressed my numerous wounds for the kittie was a valiant warrior.

I informed Rubber Ducky that the mission was a partial success. One kittie instead of two. Hindsight being twenty twenty it is obvious that the white kittie was already battle trained and too wild to submit to the socialization program as intended. He will serve best catching rats and snakes for a profession.

Good-bye My Lady - Part IV

As I surveyed my estate room by room I tried to imagine in what manner I would utilize each space from the lower level to the highest level which culminated in the bedroom of the Lady’s youth. For myself I chose a room on the lower level both for the dark foreboding ambiance and the soothing effects of a warm fire in the fireplace. The expanse of the room was also to my liking for it was almost as expansive as the great hall on the center level which was so loved by the Duke before me.

Lady would often come and visit to help with the decorating of each space. My furnishings were few since I had relocated so often since I lost my estate to the war. Slowly I acquired the necessary items to minimally furnish each area of the estate.

As time went on I noticed a change in the Lady. She curiously began to avoid the upper levels of the estate. One day when she looked extremely distressed I ask her what was the matter. She said: “I don’t feel comfortable in the upper levels of the estate. Especially in my old bedroom.”. I didn’t quite understand but told her to avoid that area if she was uncomfortable in those areas of the estate.

Little did I know what the estate was doing to the Lady or why. Memories of unpleasant incidents in the estate began to haunt the Lady to the extent that she became ill with a peculiar swooning illness which had almost taken her life in her youth.

The illness progressed with such intensity that the Lady could no longer care for herself in her own estate. She had a brother but he was prone to abandon the Lady for days while he attended to his business ventures.

Hearing of this and remembering my pact with the Duke I made a place for her in the great hall of my estate since it had easy access to all essential functions of the estate. Her illness made it difficult for her to move around the estate due to the extreme dizziness caused by the illness which usually made the Lady faint dead away when required to walk between areas of the estate. Subsequently the best alchemist in the province were summoned but they could offer little relief for they couldn’t determine the cause of the illness. Eventually she began to appear to hallucinate by hearing strange sounds and seeing strange sights in the estate especially emanating from the upper reaches of the estate. I became very concerned with her condition at this time because of its intensity and our inability to properly treat the disease. The resulting bleedings and leachings did nothing but drain her strength so eventually I put a stop to these practices which infuriated the alchemist so they left her with me untreated.

Meanwhile at her estate which had been left in the hands of her brother I received word that he had arranged and sold Lady’s coach and steed. Because she was ill and could not use them any longer he decided that he couldn’t afford to continue support of these items for he had little use for them. Unfortunately little did anyone know (especially Lady) that he was slowly selling off her property while she was away to settle some covert debts he had acquired.

Hearing of the sale of her coach and stead by her brother; the Lady was very much distressed. Eventually her brother convinced her that it was best since she couldn’t use them anymore and he would use the coin to keep up the estate while she was away.

I took it upon myself to arrange a deal with the new owner to allow the coach and stead to be taken to the Lady and give her one more ride. Even thought she was very sick she welcomed the chance for a last ride. As we finished the ride she stroked the stead and said: “Good-bye My Lady for I will miss you dearly”.